Shillong, Sep. 2 (PTI): The Meghalaya government will write to the UGC on Thursday seeking extension of holding final year undergraduate and postgraduate exams from September to next month as students are not mentally prepared for the evaluation due to Covid-19 pandemic, state Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said.
The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday.
"We will write to the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday requesting for an extension of the deadline.
"There is an anxiety among the students as many of them are not mentally prepared. A month's delay in holding the examinations will help them to score better," Rymbui said in a statement.
The Meghalaya government wants the final year examinations to be conducted on October 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16 and the results to be declared by October 31, he said.
The state government took the decision in view of opposition from several quarters against the move of the North Eastern Hill University to hold the examinations in September, the minister said.
Over 24,000 students, including 2,000 postgraduate students, are eligible to appear for the final year examinations.
Meanwhile, the state government has asked deputy commissioners of all 11 districts to vacate school premises, that are presently functioning as Covid-19 quarantine centres, by September 15, he said.
The Union Home Ministry on Saturday issued the Unlock 4 guidelines under which students of classes 9 to 12 may be permitted from September 21 to visit their schools, in areas outside the containment zones, only on a voluntary basis for taking guidance from their teachers.
The Supreme Court on August 28 had ruled that universities and other institutions of higher education will have to conduct the final-year exams and "cannot" promote students on the basis of internal assessment or other criteria. However, the court gave discretion to states and Union Territories, which may have postponed the exams in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, to approach the UGC for extension of the September 30 deadline.